Facets and Capabilities
by stocktonwood
Summary: Cas and Dean have returned from Purgatory with an old friend whose become much more than that to Dean. Sam is wary of trusting Gabriel with his big brother's heart. But over time he finds that not only is Gabriel capable of great things but he is every bit as multifaceted as his brother claims. Dean/Gabriel established. Sam & Gabriel Family.


Howdy ya'll! Thanks for reading! This is my first foray into Supernatural fic (that I've put up!) and I guess I'm just excited about testing the waters a bit. If the mood strikes ya, please feel free to drop me a review, I'd love to hear from you!

Notes: This story takes place in an imagined future sometime after season seven, where Dean and Cas have returned from Purgatory and Dean has entered into a romantic relationship with the Archangel they bring back with them. Their relationship is already established by the time they escape from Purgatory. They are still fighting all manner of demons and monsters. Sam is having a little bit of a hard time adjusting. Knowledge of Seasons 1-7 will help you here, as I make reference to them throughout. Enjoy ya'll!

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of the characters therein. I'm just having a bit of fun with 'em.

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When Lucifer had possessed Sam, there had been darkness. All that he could see or feel had been cold and hard and all consuming.

When he'd felt Michael in the cage, all he had felt was light. An overpowering, silver-white light that was every bit as cold and hard as Lucifer's darkness.

When Dean had told Sam about the arrival of Raphael in the abandoned building, he'd told Sam that Raphael had crackled with electricity and that it had made the air hard and biting.

When Gabriel had led the Host against the legions of demons and monsters who had held the Righteous Man captive, he had burned with golden fire. His rage had ignited the air around him and turned everything to flame.

For the first time, Sam Winchester had been truly afraid of Gabriel.

He had not been alone in his terror. All but the most ancient and powerful monsters had fled before Gabriel's approach. And those who had faced him had sorely regretted their pride.

He'd obliterated them.

With a wave of his hand the demons had imploded and their remains had splattered the faces of their terrified compatriots. With a swing of his fiery blade they'd ignited into pillars of flame.

Even the Host who had flanked him had trembled, for they had not seen the wrath of an Archangel in millennia and Sam had finally understood what Cas had meant when he had called the Archangels 'Heaven's most terrifying weapon.'

And Sam _**had**_ been terrified.

But hours after the battle, as he knelt beside the still form of Dean Winchester in the master suite of Bobby Singer's old home, Gabriel the Archangel looked anything but terrifying.

He looked relieved and worried and heartbroken and afraid, but not terrifying.

As he pressed his forehead against Dean's shoulder he radiated a light that was neither dark nor hard nor cold.

It was golden and warm and soft and comforting. It was the sun on a frosty day, an unexpected heat that warmed your bones and chased away the pain of the bitter cold.

And even though Sam was terribly afraid that Dean was hurt worse than they had realized, he basked in the glow and he felt peace, he felt comfort.

It was the first time that Sam Winchester had truly begun to realize just who and what Gabriel really was.

Whereas Dean had seen Gabriel's great capacity for love from the moment he'd heard Gabriel speak about his family, Sam was only just now beginning to see the Archangel.

When Dean had been confident that Gabriel would come through at the Elysian Fields, Sam had argued with him, convinced that the pagans had burned through any currency they might have had with Gabriel the moment they'd attempted to kill him.

After all, who would be willing to put their life on the line to help people who'd already proven that they considered their continued survival paramount to yours?

But Dean had been adamant that Gabriel still cared.

Sam had been flabbergasted, kindness was one thing but forgiveness of homicide was another. If he was being totally honest, Sam wasn't even sure Gabriel was capable of either.

But then Dean had been right and Sam had been left puzzling over the motives of angels turned tricksters in addition to the equally mystifying matter of his own brother's seeming expertise on the subject.

Then there had been the almost-Apocalypse, the cage, a frigid soulless limbo on Earth, the Leviathans and then Dean and Cas had been spirited away to Purgatory and Sam had been alone. He'd thought it would be forever, but by some miracle, both Dean and Cas had made it home.

And they'd brought company in the form of the Archangel Gabriel, raised from Purgatory and as impish and powerful as he'd ever been.

But there had been something new between Dean and Gabriel.

Whatever connection had allowed Dean to see Gabriel so clearly before had evolved into something much more intimate.

It had taken time for Sam to adjust to the new arrangement.

He was wary of the archangel and even warier of trusting him with Dean's heart.

Dean had been hurt so many times, in so many ways; by so many people that Sam couldn't help but be protective.

He had suspected Gabriel of all manner of ulterior motives, not the least of which was using Dean to escape from Purgatory.

It wouldn't have been the first time that someone had used Dean's compassion and strength to their own advantage.

Hell, their own father had used Dean all of their lives. He'd seen the boy's unwavering loyalty, his eagerness to be loved and his selfless heart and had been unable to resist the temptation of using him.

Maybe he hadn't meant to, but he'd done it all the same and John's inability to see past his own grief and rage and treat Dean as a child instead of a tool had left scars that Dean had carried all his life.

John was the first, but he was not the last. It seemed that because Dean was brave and strong and kind, people just couldn't help but lay their burdens at his feet and expect him to take them up.

Even Castiel who loved Dean dearly and was powerful in his own right, had looked to him to teach him, to lead him, and to be The Righteous Man.

If Sam had regarded Gabriel with more than a little suspicion, he had felt that he could hardly have been blamed for doing so.

After a few months of sidelong glances and probing questions, Gabriel was as attached to Dean as ever and Sam was still absolutely clueless regarding Gabriel's motives. So one day he'd cornered Gabriel in the kitchen of Bobby Singer's house and demanded to know just exactly what Gabriel's intentions were towards his brother.

Gabriel had quirked an eyebrow and calmly but firmly informed him that his relationship with Dean had nothing to do with sasquatches.

Sam had barely even bristled, he'd simply pointed out that if Gabriel knew anything about Dean, then he knew damn well how untrue that was. It was dirty pool, but who gave a shit, this was his brother's well-being that he was protecting. If he had to play a little dirty so be it.

To Sam's surprise, Gabriel had huffed, pulled a sullen, defeated face and ground out the sentence, "Fine, Sam, what do you want to know?"

Sam had told him in no uncertain terms that he wanted to know what Gabriel's motives and intentions were regarding his brother.

Gabriel had adopted an expression of exaggerated confusion and replied, "Are you asking me if I'm gonna marry him? Is this about his virtue?"

Sam had grimaced (because gross) and Gabriel had smirked, unabashedly delighted by Sam's discomfort and Sam had rolled his eyes and soldiered on.

"No Gabriel, I mean, why are you with him? What's in it for you?"

At his question, Gabriel's face underwent a fascinating series of transformations.

First he had seemed confused, then perfectly blank and then it had settled into some perplexing hybrid of furious and heartbroken.

The words he had spoken afterwards were the quietest Sam had ever heard the archangel speak.

They were spoken so softly that Sam had had to strain to hear them.

"Why is it so hard for you to believe that someone would want Dean just for Dean?"

He'd looked up at Sam then, amber eyes shining with tears but burning with anger, and he'd left.

After that, Sam had dug out a beer from the fridge, settled down onto the couch and stared out the window until the sun had gone down.

The next time he'd been around Gabriel, there were no more sidelong glances and there were no more probing questions. He'd decided to give the archangel a chance and for the first time he was finally able to see just how good the relationship really was for Dean.

In the past few years, a real smile from Dean had become a rare thing and the full, joyful sound of his real laugh, even rarer.

But with Gabriel around, it was like time had been reversed.

Dean was happy; he drank less, he slept more, he laughed, he engaged in juvenile prank wars with Gabriel and even though Sam sometimes got caught in the crossfire, he was happy too.

He had missed this Dean. The happy, lively Dean who drove too fast and sang off key not because he was dulling the pain or because the angrier he was, the faster he drove, but because he loved to sing and because driving fast with the windows down reminded him of the way it felt to fly with Gabriel.

And yeah, for _**that**_ Sam could handle having pink hair for a day or having his t-shirts replaced with rhinestone covered tube tops every once in a while. As long as Gabriel didn't try to turn him into a woman again, he could endure the odd prank or two as long as it meant he could see Dean doubled over with laughter and the delighted, joyful look Gabriel wore when he'd succeeding in making Dean laugh, even if it was at Sam's expense.

When Dean still hadn't woken up two days after his rescue Sam was more than willing to bend on his gender swap policy if it would only make Dean wake up.

When he'd voiced that sentiment to the Archangel who had knelt by Dean's side since the moment he'd been arranged on the bed, he'd gotten a sharp little smirk that was softened around the edges by such sincere gratitude that Sam had decided that yeah; maybe being Samantha for a few minutes wasn't such a high price to pay.

He became even more convinced of Gabriel's affection when Gabriel had stayed, hour after hour crouched by Dean's side (because he didn't want to crowd his space on the bed) murmuring reassurances to him and lovingly tending to his wounds.

Sometimes he even sang to him when he thought Sam wasn't there. On those occasions, Sam would listen for a moment or two, then creep back the way he'd come, not wanting to disturb the intimate moment.

Once, Sam had stubbed his toe on a chair and Gabriel had whirled mid-sentence to gape up at Sam with what could only have been described as mortification. To Sam's eternal surprise, Gabriel's cheeks were even tinged red with embarrassment.

Sam had been about to apologize and go when Dean had suddenly groaned and curled in on himself. Sam had taken a few steps to stand reassuringly by his bed and Gabriel had mopped at Dean's brow with a cool washcloth. When Dean had still not settled after several minutes, Gabriel had darted a few anxious glances Sam's way, fixed his gaze onto Dean's bedspread and begun to sing again.

The first few notes were tremulous and unsure but eventually they gained strength and began to sound reasonably similar to the richer, fuller notes that Sam had secretly heard so many times before.

Through it all, Gabriel never looked up, never met Sam's eyes and never (never!) moved his gaze away from the delicate threading of Dean's bedspread.

By the time Dean had settled back into a comfortable sleep, the flush on Gabriel's cheeks had spread down his neck and upwards to the tips of his ears.

Sam hadn't even known that Gabriel was capable of suffering from embarrassment.

As it had turned out, Gabriel was capable of a great many things and when Dean's eyes had finally fluttered open on the fourth day following his rescue, Sam had realized what another one of them was.

Somehow, Gabriel had begun to convince Dean that he was more than his function, he was a person.

For the first time in a long time, maybe even ever, Dean was allowing himself to be happy, to love and be loved. Not for what function he could perform or what duty he could fulfill, but for whom he was.

Gabriel didn't look at Dean and contemplate how best to utilize him.

He didn't look to Dean to protect him or to teach him. He saw all of Dean's strength and kindness and bravery, but not as things to be commandeered for his own purposes. He saw them as things to be praised and cherished, but not exploited.

And from what Sam could tell Gabriel saw _**Dean**_ the same way; he treated him as someone precious and good, who deserved to be _**loved**_, not _**used. **_

And somehow he'd convinced _**Dean**_ to begin to see himself that way too and slowly (very slowly), Dean had begun to allow himself to be human. He was allowing himself to be loved.

The fact that Dean hadn't angrily pushed Gabriel away when he'd moved to help him into the bathroom was proof positive that Dean had finally (finally!) begun to see that he didn't always have to be invincible. He was allowed to need comfort. More importantly, he was allowed not only to _**want**_ comfort but to _**enjoy**_ it.

How the angel had accomplished such a feat was beyond Sam, but as the sounds of muffled laughter and gentle teasing drifted through the bathroom door, he smiled, because for the very first time, Sam Winchester realized that maybe, just maybe Dean had finally found someone who could love him the way he deserved to be loved.

And for all of Gabriel's vast power, Sam had to admit, he'd never imagined that Gabriel, of all people, might be capable of that.

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Thanks again for reading! Remember, reviews are cherished and very much appreciated. Be well ya'll!


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